The Transfer Tavern

The Chelsea fans have been feeling disappointed in the Transfer Tavern this week after their side were dumped out of the Champions League by Barcelona on Wednesday night, but recent reports concerning their club’s bid for Aaron Ramsey have given a handful of supporters reason to be optimistic.

Chelsea supporters are no strangers to transfer rumours linking their club with plenty of players from across the continent who they have rarely seen in action for their respective clubs, however, the latest rumour concerns a player they are very familiar with. According to reports in The Daily Mirror, Chelsea are interested in signing Aaron Ramsey (valued at £36 million by Transfermarkt) from Arsenal this summer when he enters the final year of his contract.

The potential of signing Ramsey has divided The Blues punters propping up our bar. Plenty of them believe that he is slightly below the level that is required to enable Chelsea to compete with Manchester City next season, whilst others have argued that he could thrive at Stamford Bridge.

Ramsey has enjoyed a decent season for Arsenal so far, as he has scored 6 goals and provided 8 assists from his 19 Premier League appearances, despite playing in a slightly deeper midfield role for the most part. The Welsh international is one of a rare breed as a natural box-to-box midfielder, and his qualities would certainly offer Chelsea an improvement on their current box-to-box option, namely Danny Drinkwater.

Drinkwater was one of Leicester City’s standout players during their shocking title victory in the 2015/16 season, and he thoroughly deserved his transfer to Chelsea last summer, but thus far he has struggled to justify his hefty price-tag in West London. There is no doubting that he is a good player, but unless he proves himself in the imminent future then its likely that Ramsey’s arrival would spell the end of his Chelsea career after just one season.

Ramsey’s arrival would further intensify the competition for places in midfield at the club, and Drinkwater is likely to be the man to depart to make room for the Welsh international due to their similar playing styles. It’s not an outcome that either Conte or Drinkwater are likely to want, but it’s a transfer that Drinkwater will have to make in order to benefit his career and boost his chances of playing regular first-team football.